Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Sadie Harris

Sadie Harris is such a beautiful british name and it was the name of my maternal Grandmother. The brand i am launching is one of tradition and heritage, all British, made in England. It speaks of stealth style with an edge. My grandmother sums up these things for me - she was beautiful, strong, elegant and so very british from a bygone era - an era where womens lives where hard, especially in the North of England, but she lead hers with elegance and above all she loved life, playing the ukelele and starring in local productions. She married in her early 40's and i think my mother was somewhat of a surprise, sadly she lost her husband when my mother was just 7. She spent the last twenty years of her life in a mental home the only place for her with early onset alzheimers - i did not know her - i want to dedicate something to her so in some small way her life will live on.

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The first collection i am working on is entitled "A very British Summer". I will be using traditional saville row fabrics, they will meet feminine form, with 70's referencing. They will be wearable, easy pieces that cater for our very own brand of weather - light weight tailoring, beautiful lace dresses with lightweight menswear inspired 3/4 coats, pieces that interchange in soft muted colours with flashes of brights. It is a collection that will be wearable across age groups with old fashioned couture detailing, and stealth sex appeal. There will be an element of that old fashioned British 'boys love the girls, girls love the boys' ethos we do so very well. For this first collection i am very much my own muse.

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In the meantime Frank and I are showcasing a design i worked on this winter. I was definitely having an elegant turn and although i always love texture in my fabrics the colours were more muted and i used a lot of rich deep colours. In this instance a teal blue alpaca wool for the jacket with a navy lace layered over teal cashmere for the skirt. Playing with proportion the sleeves were shortened and a dramatic back cut was added to the jacket. I am pleased with it - it was easy to wear and dress up or down.

Although the sun was shining, the colours were distorting as well as the texture so we moved to the shade

The back is really lovely and although the fabric is soft it is holding the shape well, i always add a handy pocket!

The collar can be worn turned down but i like the shaping on the neck when up

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And finally for all you Franky fans - he wasnt having much of it - but his bum was ..

33 comments:

Congratulations! This is so exciting and I can't wait to see what you come up with, I love the back story about your grandmother, what a beauty and now I know where you get your innate sense of style from.

Thank you Claire for honouring my mother in this way. She was a lovely person who didn't deserve how her life turned out. Totally different to me physically, I take after my father, even in her eighties she still had naturally black hair with a little grey. Your outfit is beautiful. I love the style of the jacket and especially the way you have used lace over fabric for the skirt. Really stunning. Look forward to seeing more!! Lorra luv, Mum xx

Sadie Harris would be so proud of you and I am sure you are receiving her blessings.She was a beautiful and elegant lady. The jacket is spectacular and I love the way it hangs. It is classic and has style.I will be following you closely and wish you success.

Sent over by Tabitha from Bourbon and Pearls and so glad I was. Stunning jacket and I so look forward to your line becoming available. Going to bookmark your blog now. Wonderful tribute to your grandmother, and your mother's comment made me teary. Congratulations.

I have 'lurked' your blog since you first started came via Tabitha,as a big fan of Barns I was smitten....I know it is not about Barns,and I loved the fact that you modelled neutral clothes not the constant black,black shown on many posts!!

The sepia photo of your beautiful G/mother (her husband is a handsome chap also) women were so elegant then,note her fabulous furs,what a wonderful tribute to a truly British lady.The icing on the cake is the words to be made in Britain for our British weather,saville row reminds me of my G/father he had his suits made by their tailors.

Even here in the rural sticks would wear that jacket,especially in chocolate ...I don't wear black......stealthy sex,voooom.Hope to see more of your collection.Judith

Oh thank you Judith - we built/re-built this house 6 years ago - it was a major project - the barn you can see in the shots is the 2nd - i should one day take a pic of the other - it was such a good project - i bought a couple of books and named myself architect/contractor and got some of the best subbies you could ever imagine - 2 years later we were in! I am so pleased you like the jacket and that the brand brings back happy memories - i am not a fan of black myself - in fact it is prob the only colour i may never work with. great comment x

Claire, the story of your grandmother is very moving and it is such a nice gesture from you to find a way to remember her and her style. I love the jacket: your creation have a unique feminine elegance! Caterina

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About Me

I have two great loves in life (apart from the man!) and they are Fashion and Frank.
I must have been 6 years old when we lived next door to the lady with the dressing up box in the loft. In that box was a flamenco dress. Suddenly I was not the little girl next door but a glamorous lady, having adventures, grown up and gorgeous! I don't think I ever left that box - the clothes are just [somewhat] less flamboyant!
Frank is my large, canine friend - solid, dependable and just Frank!
He makes me laugh, cry and sometimes quite cross but he is such a constant joy and I think rather handsome! So the perfect companion to my dressing up box!
I started this blog to express these two joys and I hope you will enjoy the journey with me x